Jeremy Caldwell remembered as caring friend

A long-time Isabella County resident who died in a car accident early Sunday morning was remembered Monday by friends as a loyal friend and consummate outdoorsman.

Jeremy Allan Caldwell, 35, who worked at Mountain Town Station on and off for about 15 years, was born in Trenton, but grew up in Mt. Pleasant, and was an avid hunter and fisherman.

A funeral Mass is set for Thursday at 11 a.m. at St. Cecelia Church in Clare. Visitation is scheduled for Wednesday from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. at Clare’s Stephenson-Wyman Funeral Home.

Mountain Town owner Jim Holton said Caldwell was full of energy and very polite to anyone who came in contact with him.

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Caldwell was known for the past several years as Holton’s utility man who was a versatile cook in the Mountain Town kitchen and went to the restaurant on his days off to maintain equipment, maintain the grounds and other tasks when the restaurant was closed, Holton said.

When asked to do something, Caldwell was there, Holton said.

Last week, Caldwell brought a deer skull to the restaurant, showing it off, Holton said.

There has been an outpouring of sadness from current and past Mountain Town employees since Caldwell’s death, Holton said. He called it a tribute to how many people he touched.

A grieving Holton said he will miss Caldwell with all of his heart.

“They are employees of my company but they become friends and family along the way,” Holton said. “You get to know each individual’s personality, traits, faults, benefits and much more.

“It’s the Mountain Town family and its heart is broken right now.”

Polina Zionts, who grew up in Mt. Pleasant and now lives in Chicago, said Monday that Caldwell was originally a friend of her then-boyfriend but the two became later became close.

Zionts met Caldwell in high school when she was 14, and he was one of her best friends by the time she was 18. Zionts said Caldwell was a kind man who would never speak ill of anyone.

“You never heard a mean word out of his mouth,” she said.

Caldwell was also endearingly goofy, and Zionts recalled him “mumbling” to her then-boyfriend in high school in a made-up language that the two shared.

When he was younger, Caldwell spent time with older skateboarders in Mt. Pleasant, who Zionts said took to him, leading to Caldwell’s skateboarding.

Caldwell was an incredible guy who loved nature, and had a dream of moving north to live off the land, Zionts said.

“He was very peaceful and sweet,” she said, adding that he always made time to see her when she came back to Mt. Pleasant. Zionts stayed at Caldwell’s home when she returned to Mt. Pleasant for visits.

“We were very lucky to have him,” she said. “Friends like that don’t come along very often.”

Another of Caldwell’s friends, Bob Busch, said he was “a true friend and a true outdoorsman.”

Busch, who owns Buckley’s Mountainside Canoes along the Chippewa River in Isabella County’s Deerfield Township, said he and all of Caldwell’s friends were honored to have known him.

“He shared his joy of the outdoors with all that he came across,” Busch said. “He was happiest on the river or in the woods.

“He was a friend to all. His presence will be missed.”

Caldwell died in a single car accident on North Isabella Road south of Vernon Road in Isabella Township.

The accident was reported at about 3 a.m. Sunday, Isabella County Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski said.

Caldwell was driving a 1994 Saturn north on Isabella Road when the car crossed the center line, went into a ditch and hit a driveway culvert, the sheriff said.

The car overturned numerous times before coming to rest on its wheels.

Memorials may be made to Caldwell’s family, c/o his mother, Sandra Hicks of Clare.

(Susan Field can be reached at sfield@michigannewspapers.com or follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/#1/susan.k.field.)